We describe the use of the mobile agent paradigm to design an improved infrastructure for data, integration in Distributed Sensor Network (DSN). We use the acronym MADSN to denote the proposed Mobile-Agent-based DSN. Instead of moving data to processing elements for data integration, as is typical of a client/server paradigm, MADSN moves the processing code to the data locations. This saves network bandwidth and provides an effective means for overcoming network latency, since large data transfers are avoided. We study two important problems related to MADSN design - the distributed integration problem, and the optimum performance problem. Compared to DSNs, a mobile-agent implementation of multi-resolution data integration saves up to 90% of the data transfer time. For a given set of network parameters, we analyze the conditions under which MADSN performs better than DSN and determine the condition under which MADSN reaches its optimum performance level.
